Rodent and animal trap



Allg. 26, 1952 H. N MURPHY ETAL 2,608,020

RODENT AND ANIMAL TRAP' Filed April 17. 1950 e9 l l es` 67 6| l2 l 74Aloa L ./|3 73 6o 72 s2 F' 50 9o es 5B es 4e 29 8O I4 I6 I8 l5 2 27 n 248| INVENTOR.;

Harry /V Mur-Pl: .Ma/*fin Wein/70,.

BY Harry f. Murlo/,y

Aug. 26, 1952 H. N. MURPHY ETAL y RODENT AND ANIMAL TRAP 2 SHEETS-SHEET2 Filed April 17, 1950 INVENTORS n N Wn on NJINNJ MT fwn T MNH q YPatented Aug. 26, 1952 Harry N. Murphy, Martin Weinhart, andHarrygE.

. Murphy, Sioux (Il itywlorvt Application April 17, 195o,lserialNo;156,436

canins..` (cigno-'frei' trap.-

` Angobject of our invention isI to provide-a-trap; of a box-like formin whichnseveral-rodentsor animals can be` trapped, and whereby: eachtrapped rodent leaving-thev trapping compartment-re-sets the same.

A further object of ourinvention isfto providel an arrangement in whichthe rodents` willv be entrapped in an end receiver whereby they can thenbe -removedvbyv dumping, the end-receiver.

A-further object of our. invention` is.: toipif'ovdeV aA simplifiedconstruction.

vWith Y these and other objects. in-view, our in"- vention consists inthe construction.arrange--t ment, and combination of thevariouspartsofour device, whereby the. objects contemplated are attained, ashereinafter more fully setforth the lines 2-2 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 isasectional viemvvtalgen-- aloijigthe,A

y Fguree is an end View `of the; trap Viewed-.

along the lines 4-4 of Figurefl,v

Figure 5.is a sectional view lines `5--5 of Figure 1,

Figure 6.,isV a` sectional detail -taken--alongthef lines 6.-I of Figure1, andy Figure 7 is a generally perspective viewof thev trapA portionswhen the trap is disassembled. 1

We .have used the. character I0 to indicate-an. end?. Wall. of abox-likef structure.- formingthe outer enclosure .of ourtrap,.thecharacter `I I jin- 'dicating theside walls, and the :characterI21theV bottom wall.

Positioned. transversely of the wallsfII isa apartitionIB and secured tothefwalls Illpand-II areLthe guide members Hand -I'SJbetween' whichguidememberspasses a door I6having;theiflange, Il in .which is .receiveda rod' I Si terminating in;v

thebentportion I9..

'The rod I8-ispivotally securedV at Zilftoavleverf l 2l whichislpvoted'at 22to one `of thesideavalls II, the lever2I being pivoted4atf23to a-further rodv 2,4 which isfpivoted. at to-anv eapfZG which Ouryinvention :relates ,tov a:y rodentta-nd 'i animal taken alongl the;A

af-vpassage-way-, the passageway 301havingzthe'- upper walls-3I and32zandvlower Ywallsf33i'and 112.

f'lherod 24 passes throughan elongated openbottom .Wall i I 2.' and`within .the passage-wayzis: ai further treadlexaiwhich is.securedrtoithaarm I Which -inL turn is 'attachedftoa.countei'balancingmember 38.1.- Thezatreadles-ZI and S'Brincludethe upwardly turned: lipsI3 9: which fsnuglylliaadjacently to fthe@ stripsAihavingthe lips;4 I,ithescrews.42 passing. through elongated i' openings. 43' 1in'. the;1walls 3.1:. and132 wherebyl the. lips .4t and 39` Wilt be.` closelyadjacent to each otherv,1tl'i`ese. lips bein'giprovidedi to prevent the1 creatures;l from' `graspin-gt. the' treadleand loweringjzthe ysamesothatzthey could otherwise a. pass rearwardly back, towards .-:thef4opening.

The passage-way isopen at.44 Where it .com-V4 municates to the doorway,.and. the lever. ZI passes through a suitable slot 45. A 1

A circular opening 46 is provided in they-wall., II, this` openingvproviding` means forallowing entrance .of -the animals.

Attached at 4,1 to the end :Wall I0 is a bracket 48ito which islattached at 49a member 50; and receivedwithin .a suitable slot 5I inthemember f 5I)` (see Figure) is atoothed-Wheel 52 having` teeth- 53; theWheel being` pivoted at 54fto rotate. withinthe. slot 5I. Secured togthe-rnemberffis. ai` further -bracket- 55 to which is attached at55the-thin leaf'spring member 5'Ifwhichis secured at-f58 to-a rod'59-Which is pivotallysecured-at p., 60 to the bell crank memberiGIwhichLis pivoted at,62 to a bracket 63, vandpivoteclfat 64 .tothe member6I is a,furtherrod,65 which is r'pivotal'ly secured at 66 (see Figure 3)vtov a treadle vl''lwhich i is-pivoted atS beneath a bait receiving100x169 ,.havingtheopenings I0 adjacent thereto,such;-

openings allowing 4:the aroma of thebaitto pass exteriorly offthe box.'The passage-way-Sfterminates iin-the platform] I. A

Inserted' within the end of the boxv is afurtherV rrbmi-,like'structureYhaving abottom walll .'I2`,'1 any endl-Wall-gIB, and a y rear wallvT4,V which rear wall 141:.is in the form *of a vscreen,"this box-.likemember;A also including the` topy 'IiiI and=- having Ythe flanges.-l'IIv v,between which Vflanges isz secu-red af f, .removabledoor It`terminating f in they grasping..

iiangel." v

vSecured to the forward wallI3 is a: further flange and ',pi-votallysecured'to vthe harige-180Y andfone vcftheside IWallstl isa door 8F.vhaving.` the openings' 83 a therein, and 'terminating in the rtoothed'lowerextremity 84 adapted to rest againstv the'pl'atiorm portion1 I Pivoted to the Wall13 at is a leveri terminating in the portionBLthefl lever ,-86l having -anV extending portion 88.1extend-` f ingati'r'ight anglesthereto and engagingvagainst:

the portion 89 formed in the top of the wall 13, such portion serving tohold the lever 86 in either position whereby the portion 81 will lockthe door 82, since the portion 88 can lock in either of the depressionsof the member 89, it being noted that the member 89 provides a doublecavity for the reception of the member 88 in either position, Figure 5showing the lever 86 in its up-right position, the operation of thislever being explained later on in the specication.

A pair of partitions 90 are secured to the side walls II and are adaptedto limit the inward movement of the end box.

Extending from the side walls I I are the anges V BI which are snuglyreceived within the channeled sides 92 of the lid 93, the lid 93 havingther handle 94, and terminating in the flanged end 95. The trap operatesin the following manner. The mouse or other creature is attracted by thebait in the member 69 and enters through the opening 46. In order to eatthe bait, the creature steps on the treadle 61 which forces the rodv65downwardly Aand pulls on the rod 59 vwhich releases the left-hand tooth53 of the wheel 52 as viewed in Figure 3, which will cause the weight ofthe door I6 due to the engagement of the flange I1 with' the right-handtooth v53, to rotate the wheel 52, and at the same time allowing thedoor I6to drop and cover the opening 46. The release' of the left-handtooth 53 is caused by the rod 59 pulling on the leaf spring member 51.

Next, the creature, in seeking an opening in order to escape, will passthrough the opening 44 and will step upon the treadle 36, and afterpassing beyond this treadle, the treadle itself will fall back to normalposition due to the coun' ter-balance 38, preventing the escape of thecreature.

The creature then steps upon the treadle 2l which pivots the link 2I dueto the attachment of the rod 24 thereto, which causes the portion I9 ofthe rod I8 to raise the door I6 again, Where it will be retained by atooth 53, and after the creature passes over the treadle 2'1 the link 2|will occupy the `position shown in Figure 1 due to the over-balancingweight thereof'. The creature then passes upwardly along the passage-way30 through the openings 96, which 'openingsare lprovided at the end ofthe passage-way 30 and also in the end receiving box.

The creature will then push the door 82 outwardly and will fall or jumpinto the endbox having the screened end, the toothed ends 84 preventingreturn of the creature. The creatures can be released from the end' box.by slid'ably moving the lid 93 to the right as viewed in Figure 1, theange 95 thereby allowing release of the end box, since the entire lidwill then be re' moved, the door 'I8 can then be opened by raising theflange 'I9 and the creatures can be dumped into Vwater or disposed of inany desired manner.

It will be noted that the end-box also :is replacedby merely pushing itagainst the partitionsY Figure 3 after-fthe doorris re-opened by virtueof the'positioning of the left-hand tooth 53 directly opposite to theright-hand tooth, and in this way it will be noted that the devicefunctions in a fully automatic manner without attention, and will entrapa great many creatures.

It will now (be seen that we have provided the various advantages setforth in the objects of our invention with various other advantagesbeing readily apparent.

Somechanges. may be made in the construction and arrangement of theparts of our invention without departing from the real spirit andpurpose of our invention, and it is our intention tol cover by ourclaims any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalentswhich jmaybe reasonably included within their scope.

'We claim Aas our invention: l. rnxanimal trapy comprising a box-likestructure, a passageway in said box-like structure, treadles pivotedwithin said passageway, said box-like Structure having an entranceopening, a door for closingsaid opening, means for raising said doorabove said opening including a lever) a rod attached to said lever andto said door, said lever being attached to onefof said'treadles wherebythe weight of anV animal uponsa'id treadle will raise said door, meansfor retaining said door in open position including arota'table toothedwheel, said door having a flange-engaging one of Athe teeth ofv saidwheel,- a` bait receiving member secured within said boX-like'struc--ture, a further treadle pivoted to said bait receiv- I ingmember, aretaining'member engaged with one of the teeth of said toothed wheel,means vfor releasing said retaining member including a bell crank, a rodattached between said bell crankv said treadle will raise said door,means for re` taining said door in open positionV including a rotatabletoothed wheel, said door having a flange engaging' one of the teeth 01'vsaid wheel, albait receiving member secured within said'bo'x-like'-structure, a furtherjtreadlepivoted to said bait receiving member, aretaining member engaged with one of the teeth of said toothed wheel,

means for releasing said V retaining member in-` cluding a bell crank, arod attachedbetween said bell crank and said retaining member, a furtherrod attached between said bell crank and said further treadle', landmeans for preventing return of animals rearwardly through saidpassageway including strips secured to said passageway,

said strips having up-turnedfportions, saidtreaf, dles having furtherup-turned portions snugly engaging said 11p-turned portions to vpreventmanipulation thereof by said animals, s aidpas-- sageway havinglengthened slots :for

v providing adjustment of said up-turned portions.

3; animal' trap comprising a boxlike structure, a passageway in saidbox-like structure, treadles pivoted within said passageway, said box-Alike structure'having anentrance opening, a door for closing saidYopening, means for raising said door above saidopening including alever, a rod attachedzto sare-,rever smalto' said door, said 'leverbeing attached to one of said treadles whereby the weight of an animalupon said treadle will raise said door, means for retaining said door inopen position including a rotatable toothed wheel, said door having aflange engaging one of the teeth of said wheel, a bait receiving membersecured within said box-like structure, a further treadle pivoted tosaid bait receiving member, a retaining member engaged with one of theteeth of said toothed wheel, means for releasing said retaining memberincluding a bell crank, a rod attached between said bell crank and saidretaining member, a further rod attached between said bell crank andsaid further treadle, means for preventing return of animals rearwardlythrough said passageway including strips secured to said passageway,said strips having up-turned portions, said treadles having furtherup-turnecl portions snugly engaging said upturned portions to preventmanipulation thereof by said animals, said passageway having lengthenedslots for providing adjustment of said up-turned portions, an end boxfor receiving animals therein having an opening communieating with saidpassageway, a pivoted door normally covering said opening, said openingbeing positioned at a higher elevation than said end box whereby animalswill drop into said end box, partitions against which said end box isplaced, and a lid member slidably engaged with said boxlike structureincluding a downwardly bent flange for retaining said end box.

4. An animal trap comprising a box-like structure, a passageway in saidbox-like structure, treadles pivoted within said passageway, saidboxlike structure having an entrance opening, a door for closing saidopening, means for raising said door above said opening including alever, a rod attached to said lever and to said door, said lever beingattached to one of said treadles whereby the weight of an animal uponsaid treadle will raise said door, means for retaining said door in openposition including a rotatable toothed wheel, said door having a flangeengaging one of the teeth of said wheel, a bait receiving member securedwithin said box-like structure, a further treadle pivoted to said baitreceiving member, a retaining member engaged with one of the teeth ofsaid toothed wheel. means for releasing said retaining member includinga bell crank, a rod attached between said bell crank and said retainingmember. a further rod attached between said bell crank and said furthertreadle, means for preventing return of animals rearwardly through saidpassageway including strips secured to said passageway, `said stripshaving upturned portions, said treadles having further upturned portionssnugly engaging said up-turned portions to prevent manipulation thereofby said animals, said passageway having lengthened slots for providingadjustment of said up-turned portions, an end box for receiving animalstherein having an opening communicating with said passageway, a pivoteddoor normally covering said opening, said opening being positioned at ahigher elevation than said end box whereby animals will drop into saidend box, partitions against which said end box is placed, a lid memberslidably engaged with said box-like structure including a downwardlybent flange for retaining said end box, said end box having a slidablyengaged door whereby removal thereof will allow dumping of said animals,and means for retaining said pivoted door comprising a lever membersecured within said end box member, said lever member having anextending portion adapted to bear against said door to retain the same.

5. An animal trap comprising avbox-like structure, a passageway in saidbox-like structure, treadles pivoted within said passageway, saidboxlike structure having an entrance opening, a door for closing saidopening, means for raising said door above said opening including alever, a rod attached to said lever and to said door, said lever beingattached to one of said treadles whereby the weight of an animal uponsaid treadle will raise said door, and means for retaining said door inopen position including a rotatable toothed wheel, said door having aflange engaging one of the teeth of said wheel, rotation of said toothedwheel causing release of said flange to cause said door to drop bygravity, a retaining member engaged with one of the teeth of saidtoothed wheel, release of said retaining member causing said rotation ofsaid toothed wheel.

i HARRY N. MURPHY. MARTIN WEINHART. HARRY E. MURPHY.

No references cited.

